Confession time: I used to be a Nutella addict. I seriously would go through about jar per week by eating it directly out of the jar with a spoon. I knew it wasn’t the best for me but I didn’t realize how bad! Well I guess I should have known, given suagr is the first ingredient! Two tablespoons of Nutella contain 21 grams of sugar, the equivalent of 5 teaspoons of sugar! I was just blinded by love for the chocolatey goodness! Well good news is, you can enjoy the chocolately hazelnut goodness with this healthified version!

Healthy Nutella

Ingredients:

2 cups hazelnuts

¼ cup cacao powder

¼ cup pure maple syrup

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Pinch of sea salt

¼ cup – ½ cup almond (or milk of choice) to thin out

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°

Roast hazelnuts for 6-8 minutes. Watch them closely so they do not burn

Let them cool slightly and rub them together in a paper towel to get the skins off

Sweet Potato Crust Quiche

2 medium sweet potatoes, cut thinly (I used a mandolin slicer to make them super thin)

8 eggs

1 small onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 cups spinach

Olive oil

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375

Arrange sweet potato a circular pattern to form a “crust” for the quiche in a pie dish or circular pan (I used my cast iron skillet). You will want the sweet potato to overlap slighlty as it will shrink as it cooks.

Drizzle sweet potato with olive oil and salt and pepper

Bake for 20 minutes

While sweet potato crust is baking, cook the veggies: Add olive oil to a medium skillet and place over medium high heat.

Cook until the onion and garlic are soft and fragrant

Add the mushrooms and bell pepper and cook until soft and add spinach last and cook for 2-3 minutes until wilted

In a bowl, beat eggs and combine with veggie mixture

Pour over the sweet potato crust, and place back in the oven

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until egg sets. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting

These Peppermint Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are a delicious and healthy holiday cookie recipe for mint chocolate lovers! If you are not a chocolate peppermint fan, omit the peppermint extract and you will have a healthier version of classic crinkle cookies ready for the holiday season!

My mom makes the absolute best ginger cookies. I do not know what she does to them but they are seriously the best I have ever tasted (yes, better than Starbucks Ginger Molasses Cookies). My aunt swears she has a secret ingedient and won't tell anyone the actual recipe because they only turn out when she makes them!

Though these ginger snaps do not compare to hers, they are a pretty darn good alternative, free of refined sugar, flour and oil!

Healthy Ginger Snaps

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup Coconut Oil, melted

1 Egg

1.5 Cups Almond Flour

1/4 Cup Coconut Flour

1 Cup Coconut sugar + more for rolling

2 tsp Baking soda

1/2 tsp Salt

2 tsp Ginger powder

2 tsp Cinnamon

2.5 Tbsp Organic Molasses

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper

In a large bowl, beat together the melted coconut oil and egg until well mixed.

In a medium bowl, stir together the almond flour, coconut flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon. Stir until everything is very well mixed and there are no little clumps of flour.

Stir the flour mixture, along with the molasses into the oil mixtures and stir until a slightly sticky dough forms.

Place the dough into the refrigerator for 10 minutes, to allow to coconut flour to absorb some of the moisture.

Once the dough has chilled, Roll 1 Tbsp sized balls and roll the balls around in coconut sugar. Place onto the prepared baking sheet and slightly flatten down.

Bake until the edges begin to go darker brown and top is nice and crackly, about 10-11 mins. The cookies will feel VERY soft, but they will firm up once cooled.

I have said this many times before but chocolate and peanut butter is my favourite combination. I really don't understand people who do not like it. No judgement (well maybe a little) but only because you are seriously missing out! Peanut butter balls were one of my favourite holiday treats growing up but they were usually made with excess butter, icing sugar and Kraft peanut butter (which is basically more sugar). They were (and still are delicious) but I decided to "healthify" this treat with no refined sugars, natural peanut butter and a dark chocolate coating. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats

½ cup natural smooth peanut butter

4 tbsp maple syrup, separated

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa

¼ cup coconut oil, melted

Directions:

In a bowl combine oats, peanut butter and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup. Stir well until combined.

Form into 12 - 1 inch balls and set balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper until chocolate is ready.

In a small saucepan on low heat, melt coconut oil and stir in cocoa and maple syrup until smooth.

Using a spoon, gently roll ball around in the chocolate until well covered, using a fork gently allow excess chocolate to drip off and place ball back on the cookie sheet. Continue with all balls.

Place cookie sheet in the refrigerator until chocolate has hardened, about 20 minutes.

Store in refrigerator or freezer until serving to avoid the chocolate acting from melting.

Note: You can also make the chocolate coating by melted dark chocolate versus making it but I love the slight coconut flavour the coconut oil provides.

When thinking about what kind of holiday cookies to make, I knew I wanted to make something with pumpkin. I remembered my Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars that I made a couple years ago which has a base in oat flour so I thought they would be easy to turn into cookies, and I was glad they turned out! This recipe is super simple and fast to make and is a nice twist on a regular oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! Enjoy!

Brynn Burstyn Nutrition

Hey there, I'm Brynn! I help clientsaddress their health concerns in order to live an abundant life of health and happiness. I'm a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Crossfit Level 1 Trainer, and lover of all things health and fitness! When I am not blogging or on Instagram, you can find me in the kitchen creating new recipes, or checking out new restaurants around Toronto. Read more

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